Fallen by Traci L. Slatton Book Review

Fallen Book Review (Book 1 of the After Trilogy)

Pub. 2011 - 240 pp

Fallen is the first book in the After Trilogy by Traci L. Slatton. Set in France, Fallen is an adult post-apocalyptic romance blended with paranormal and science-fiction elements.

Emma and her daughter Mandy are separated from their family in Canada when an apocalyptic event occurs. Emma had taken her daughter with her on a business trip to France when the event occurs. Seeping up from the ground and pouring from rock ledges, a metal-consuming mist rolls across the world in swirling, ball-shaped formations. The mist appears to be attracted to metal and dissolves buildings and towns within hours, almost as if it has a need to consume. Flesh also contains metal and the mist, not satiated by the towers of steel, chases after fleeing animals and humans, devouring them in an extinction level event.

A few people have been able to evade the balls of mist, including Emma and Mandy. Roaming the French countryside for weeks, Emma has also picked up several orphaned children along the way, becoming their maternal ward. They live day to day, scavenging for food and avoiding crazed bands of cannibals. They have heard rumors along the way of an all-female camp hidden somewhere in the woods as well as possible locations that have been untouched by the mists. And some of those who have survived the initial massacre have been touched with paranormal gifts.

The story opens as a ball of mist had caught Emma’s group of children unaware. It is her daughter Mandy who is pinned up against a rock wall as the mist advances toward her. Emma and the other children watch helplessly from a distance and just as Emma is about to put her daughter down with a merciful bullet to the head before the mist can painfully dissolve her, newcomers appear and the mist miraculously retreats.

The men arrive on horseback and Emma recognizes them to be safe. At least, they aren’t cannibals; they appear to be clean and sane. Emma convinces the leader to bring her and the children back to their camp. At first he resists because it is camp for men only. But Emma, desperate for safety, entices Arthur with promises of sexual ‘contributions’ for him and him alone. He begrudgingly accepts and the men bring Emma and her children back to their camp.

At their new home, Emma finds a dirty but safe camp filled with mostly healthy men, lots of food and provisions. Arthur vows that his camp is somehow safe from the mist. Aside from Emma’s regular ‘contributions’, she also helps with the cleaning and tending to the sickbeds. When two of their men come back to the camp gravely injured, Emma lays her hands on them and helps their wounds heal. It is this moment when she reveals her newly formed healing powers to the group. At once, she becomes one of the group’s most valuable assets.

Other people have developed new powers which are attributed to the mist, so they aren’t too surprised when Emma reveals her powers to heal. Arthur has the power to partially control the mist, one of the children has premonitions, the camp doctor can see inside bodies, another camp’s leader has telepathic abilities, and Mandy can see ghosts from the past.

All Emma wants to do is find a way to get back home to her husband and other daughter in Canada, one of the areas thought to be a safe zone. Although her new shelter provides a glimmer of hope, Emma’s battles are just about to begin. Stories of her healing powers have managed to travel outside of the camp and she soon becomes a desired commodity by neighboring, and warring, compounds. On top of that, Emma tries to keep the brutish leader at an emotional distance but they begin to fall in love.

Slatton has built a world in a post-apocalyptic setting where clans of survivors have quickly grouped together. Emma’s clan is highly patriarchal and everyone has a role to fill. There is no question of leadership. They all kowtow to the overbearing Arthur. After being described as a bearded tyrant on horseback, and combined with his feudal system-ish camp creation, it’s hard not to put the word ‘King’ before his name. Although Arthur comes off as a harsh and controlling man, he has a noble agenda. Unlike other clans, he wants to protect people, rather than enslave or (gulp) slice them up to eat.

The relationship between Emma and Arthur could be considered a bit controversial. When Emma first enters the camp, it is as a sexual arrangement. He takes from her when he wants to and is forceful about it. Eventually, he becomes possessive and controlling, treating Emma as personal chattel. He becomes violent if she speaks to another man and aggressive if she disobeys or acts without permission. Emma is an extremely independent and strong woman, but is able to keep her cool and put up with Arthur which goes against her character. If this had been a historical fiction, their dutiful roles would have been readily understood. But this is a newly created world which only mimics on old way of life out of necessity. And somehow the main characters slide back into an outdated, sexist mindset too quickly. Not many modern, strong-willed woman would have been able to put up with Arthur’s antics for very long, never mind fall in love with him. Arthur did everything but beat his chest and howl like Tarzan. And Emma seemed to equate his desire to possess and control with love – presenting an issue that might not bode well for some. Then again, the saucy domination factor will be irresistible to others.

The domination that occurs is of the mind, not the body. Fallen is not a bodice-ripper and there are no smut scenes, leaving all of the heavy romantic interludes to your imagination. Although the novel opens with a fairly provocative sex trade, which I found smartly daring and very real for the situation, the story quickly moves in another direction.

Arthur calms down over time and the two experience intimate moments which build upon the budding romance. And when Emma is in trouble, Arthur rides in on more than one occasion as her personal knight in shining armor even though Emma is perfectly capable of handling her own situations. His growing fear of losing Emma also grows on the reader. While the two slowly develop real feelings for one another which surpass the initial sex trade, they both keep their fair share of secrets. It is Arthur’s secret which deals the biggest revelation and the mightiest blow.

While the story borders on the paranormal with the new powers that develop in the survivors, the mist that gave these powers is science-fiction in nature. Arthur and some of his followers are scientists and they throw around some complicated scientific theories and terminology. In that respect, Fallen is a successful genre mash-up with a little bit for everyone†.

Sucker for the strong female protagonist? Check. Want the knight in shining armor? Check. Love the ever-fascinating paranormal story? Check. Dig post-apocalyptic settings? Check. Got a thing for science-fiction? Check. Into domination? Check.Fallen doesn’t fall short of having it all. The second in the series, Cold Light, is already available with the third looming in the distance.

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† This book contains material unsuitable for young adults. Therefore my reference to ‘everyone’ is not entirely accurate.

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Rebecca Skane

Rebecca is the founder of the Portsmouth Book Club. Google it. It's free to join! Follow me on Goodreads! Read Full